Utica shale may not produce an oil gusher for Chesapeake

Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s “prospects of coaxing crude oil from Ohio's rust belt have dimmed,” The Wall Street Journalreports, but CEO Aubrey McClendon “maintained the region remains key to the natural gas giant's future.”Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake wants to become a major producer of oil, which is more profitable than natural gas. In Ohio, The Journal says, “Chesapeake executives had expressed optimism about producing oil from the Utica Shale, a deeply buried layer of petroleum-rich rock.” (Chesapeake owns drilling rights to 1.2 million acres in the Utica.)The newspaper notes that Mr. McClendon last May said he was confident the company would report good results from oil production. But on Tuesday, The Journal reports, he said the Utica was unlikely to drive a major increase in its oil production.It is not a place "where we are going to probably see a huge amount of oil production growth," Mr. McClendon said at an investor conference. "And to the extent the oil works, it will be with some other companies."Still, Mr. McClendon said the company is pleased with its results in the Utica, calling it "one of our foundational plays for decades to come," according to The Journal.A Chesapeake spokesman told the newspaper, "For the time being, we are pleased to let other companies commit their capital to the oil window" of the Utica.

This and that

Cheesy does it: Next year, you will be able to get your Melt Bar & Grilled fix when you're in Columbus.

Columbus Business Firstreports that the gourmet grilled cheese restaurant, which started in Lakewood and now has four Northeast Ohio locations, will open a spot in Columbus in 2013.Marcus Fish, brother of Melt owner Matt Fish, tells the newspaper that a site and a developer “are both locked in,” but he wouldn't divulge details.About to stall?: U.S. auto sales have bounced back, helped in part by the return of easier lending terms, even to borrowers with flawed credit histories. But Bloomberg reports that some economists, including Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics LLC in Pepper Pike, “question whether the gains can be sustained without a boost in hiring.”Auto loans were up 5.5% in the second quarter from the like period last year, according to Experian. Risky buyers accounted for 43.9% of the total, up from 42% in 2008, Bloomberg reports. Hourly wages for non-managers climbed 1.1% on average over the past 12 months, the least since 1965.While credit availability is bolstering car sales now, it might not be enough to maintain the momentum, Mr. Mayland tells Bloomberg.“We're not getting the income generation to propel those auto sales to the next, higher, level,” he says. “With how weak the economy is and how weak income generation is, we're really at a stumbling block.”

The China syndrome: Cleveland was the focal point of anti-China advertising during the presidential and Senate elections, according to this analysis by The Wall Street Journal.“According to Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group, the two presidential campaigns spent a combined $45.7 million on television advertising that discussed China and trade,” the newspaper reports. “Additionally, candidates in four Senate elections tracked by the group – Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Indiana — spent another $8.6 million in China trade spots.”In past presidential elections, complaints about China came mainly from Democrats. But this time, Republican Mitt Romney, who pledged to name China a currency manipulator, outspent President Barack Obama by 3-to-1 ($33.8 million vs. $11.9 million) on China-related ads.The place that saw the most China ads? Cleveland, where The Journal says TV watchers were deluged with 4,722 China trade ads, which cost the campaigns $4.6 million.In addition, Sen. Sherrod Brown spent $3.7 million on China ads. His opponent, state Treasurer Josh Mandel, ran no China ads.You also can follow me on Twitter for more news about business and Northeast Ohio.

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